Aren't You Glad?
by DramaticStarlet
Summary: I'll marry you today. ShaneCaitlyn.


_katie presents:_

**aren't you glad?**

(**shane.caitlyn**)

:3 Shaitlyn-ness. This fic got rewritten so many times, you don't even know. I was going to rip my eyeballs out if I had to re-do it again.

This is one is for Ada (pyrolyn-776). (: I adore this girl, she's the most fun person. Plus, she told me her new obsession was Shaitlyn, and guess what? IT'S MIND TOO! :D I think I'm rambling. Oh well. :p

**Dedicated to pyrolyn-776**  
(aka, Ada bb)

--

Shane Gray wakes up at six in the morning.

He's no early bird, but he perks right up when he rolls over in his bed and sees that she isn't there. He furrows his eyebrows together in confusion when it hits him that the only part of her there is the smell of freesia and sex in a tangle of bedsheets.

Shane sighs and gets out of his bed, pulling on the boxers he had discarded last night. His feet make shuffling noises against the wood flooring of his house as he makes his way into the living room.

Caitlyn is sitting on the couch in one of Shane's sweatshirts, sipping at a steaming cup of coffee.

Shane smiles; "I thought you left."

"Hm?" Caitlyn turns around abruptly, clearly startled by Shane's sudden advent.

"I thought you left me," Shane repeats and sits down next to Caitlyn.

She sets her mug down on the coffee table and pulls her knees to her chest, resting her chin atop them. She's twenty-four, but at that moment Shane swears she's the teenaged beauty he'd had his eye on since he was thirteen.

"No. I'm here. Like always," Caitlyn murmurs, and now that he's more awake, Shane can see that her eyes are puffy and red.

"Hey, babe, are you alright?" Shane asks as he runs a finger over her porcelain cheek. Caitlyn doesn't cry often – this has to be bad.

"Shane...I love you," she whispers.

"I love you too, Caitlyn. But that's not what's wrong..."

Caitlyn runs a hand through her wavy brown locks; "Shane, do you want to get married?"

"Yes," Shane nods.

"When do you want to get married?" she inquires, gazing at him with inquisitive brown mahogany orbs.

Shane feels like he's seventeen again, and being tricked by his girlfriend. There's a right answer (a lie, usually) and a wrong answer (most often the truth) – and Shane has a tendency to pick the answer.

So he remains silent.

"Tell me," Caitlyn's whispered plea is broken.

"Whenever," he sighs, and it really is the truth.

"Shane...I can't do whenever. I have my career, my car, my friends...but I'm ready for something more. I want a family – a husband and kids. The whole nine yards," Caitlyn says seriously, picking up her coffee mug and idly swirling the remainder of the caffeinated drink it holds.

Shane's mind twirls – he wants the same things. He wants them, too. But the thought of such love and devotion kind of scares him. He's not afraid of commitment – he's afraid of screwing something up along the way.

He stares at the purity ring hanging on a chain around Caitlyn's neck. He smiles, and remembers that night, the night he gave his body to Caitlyn. He was eighteen and leaving for a tour; she was sixteen and moving to Maine.

That night, as their lips kissed areas exposed for the first time to each other, Shane's stomach had been consumed by nervousness (he didn't want to hurt Caitlyn), and his heart had nearly exploded with complete and total adoration of Caitlyn Jo Gellar.

That night, Shane gave his whole self to Caitlyn, whether he'd realized it at the time or not.

"Do you see this ring?" Shane reaches out and fingers the chain. Caitlyn nods.

"I gave this ring to you because it means something. When I lost my virginity to you, that meant something. When you said first said I love you to me, it meant something. Hell, Caitlyn, when you walk into the room it means something. You mean a lot to me, and even though that terrifies me, it's the truth," Shane murmurs and presses a few kisses into Caitlyn's hair.

"But what do I mean?" she questions further.

Shane shakes his head in disbelief. "Everything, Caitlyn. You mean everything to me. If I can't wake up everyday and know that I have you, life just seems...empty. I want a family with you too, Caitlyn, really. I'm just a little intimidated.

Caitlyn smiles and Shane runs his fingers over her lips.

"Marry me," he whispers, locking gazes with her.

Shane is impulsive and reckless. Caitlyn is organized and calculated. He imagines her response will be something along the lines of, "Let's not be hasty, sweetheart."

It's not.

"When?" Caitlyn sighs and leans over so that her head is resting on his chest, her inner romantic seeping through her facade.

"Whenever you want. I'll marry you today."

"We're really getting married?" Caitlyn looks at him, raising an eyebrow. Shane laughs at her skepticism – he never lies.

"We really are, Cait," he smiles and pulls her closer to him, listening to the silence. It's deafening, but neither party minds much.

Caitlyn's breathing slows after this, and Shane pulls a blanket off of the floor. They both shift until they're both lying down on the couch.

Soon, both are asleep once more. Shane's arm is draped protectively over Caitlyn, and her hand is resting atop his.

Shane's dream consists of Caitlyn – her hair, her smile, her pretty brown eyes. He can't see anything – he's blinded by her beauty, her utter perfection.

When Shane wakes up, his fingers are locked to the chain around his neck.

The chain that holds Caitlyn Gellar's purity ring.

--

Err...yeah...suckish ending, I know, but this story was just getting annoying and I wanted to get it done.

(: So yes.

I think this is the first Caitlyn fic I've written (oneshot-wise) where Caitlyn gets her happy ending. Is that sad?

**Please review with more than "so cute" or "i loved it," thanks!**


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